Incandescence
by DRoWN.uNTo.Me
Summary: Their love was incandescent. It hurt them, scorched their hearts and burned their souls. Oh, and the Blacks have a thing for falling in love with w- oh, never mind, you can wait and see. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Blood Park

Chapter 0.75: Blood Park

The start of the day was near. She could feel it in her bones. She groaned, barely even able to move. _Goddamn, goddamn, goddamn_, she continually thought, just about to scream in pain. The cold ground was spotted with her blood. Rolling over, she experienced an old type of pain that she had never gotten used to. Her elbows cracked as she elevated her upper body to get up, but she couldn't. Falling back on to the ground, more pain shot through her body. She was sure that at least two of her ribs were broken, and the rest were either fractured or bruised. Her skin felt too heavy on her bones, and her bones themselves felt like they were made of lead.

She could barely force her muscles to move her joints, this time successfully getting up. Dragging herself to a nearby tree, she bit her lip to keep from screaming as she pulled herself up into a standing position. The pain tripled in intensity as she held on to the tree trunk for dear life. Her eyes were closed as she panted, tasting the blood from her bitten lip.

Suddenly, she heard voices, footsteps getting louder on the pavement. In a matter of seconds, she could clearly make out their words. One man was saying something along the lines of, "I can't believe he escaped. You're sure he went in this direction?" "Last time I saw him, yes," another replied. She struggled to move. Stumbling to conceal herself behind the bushes, she bit her lip harder, trying to ignore the thorny underbrush that was drawing blood. It was becoming harder for her to breathe, and she could feel herself starting to lose consciousness.

"Hey, Sirius!" she heard one call out, "There's blood over here!"

She hadn't realized how close they were. She heard the man she was assuming to be Sirius run closer.

"Oh, no," he murmured, then loudly, "Remus!"

The two men tore through the bushes and the underbrush, following the trail of blood.

"Remus, you bloody bastard, don't tell me got yourself near-dead!" one yelled in frustration.

"You're not allowed to do this to us! You're supposed to stay with us at all times! We established rules about this! You, who are a ridiculous stickler for all rules no matter how inane, are not allowed to do this!" the other cried angrily.

In a moment they came upon a person, but not the one they were expecting. She was only half conscious by this time, and even summoning up all of her strength would not have been enough to escape from them, whoever they were. The only thing she could do was let out a slight groan that sounded pitiful even to her.

"Oh no," one said, "James, what does this mean?"

"Oh Remus," James whispered, "What have you done?"

"James! You cannot honestly think-"

"Sirius, look at the goddamn blood on this girl! The scratches, the claw marks!"

"Prongs? Padfoot?" another voice called out.

"Wormtail?"

"I've got Moony! He's bleeding really badly- we need to get him help as soon as possible!"

"Wait, Peter, we've got another injured here!" James called back.

"What?"

"Come on, James, help me lift her. It's dawn, and we need to get back to the house before anyone sees us."

The two proceeded to untangle her from the underbrush, removing bloody thorns from anywhere they could in her skin. At this point she was close to being completely unconscious, only able to groan and whisper a weak "no" as she felt herself being lifted.

"You've got her, Sirius?"

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, trying to cradle her as much as possible. Her injuries looked savage; never had they seen someone so wounded.

As they made their way back out on to the pavement, Peter reached them, half-carrying Remus. He could barely walk, and it seemed like every visible inch of his skin was scratched or torn, ripe with blood. His left shoulder looked like it had become dislocated, and his right ankle was bent at an awkward angle.

"Who is that? What happened?" Peter asked, nodding towards the girl.

"We have no answer to either question," Sirius replied, taking in Remus' bloody form.

"Remus?" Peter addressed him.

"I don't know," he replied weakly, "I don't…remember…what…"

And with that, Peter felt Remus become dead weight on his shoulder as he blacked out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," James said. He moved to lift Remus' weight off of Peter.

"It couldn't have been Remus, right?" Wormtail asked his two friends as he helped Remus into James' arms.

"That's what we've been wondering," Sirius replied in a low voice as they made their way back to James' home.

"It can't have been. If so, why would Remus be this injured as well? Did he attack her, and then something else attack him? We lost him fairly early on in the night, so we may have caused some scratches, but not nearly anything worse. There are no bears in this park, and no other magical creatures either. All living things _in_ the park are controlled _by_ the park officials here. They let little to nothing get in. We're lucky my father has the connections that he does, or else we wouldn't have this space for Remus in the first place," James said.

"Then how did _she_ get in?" Sirius asked, looking down at the near-corpse in his arms.

**Hey guys! I'm calling this chapter 0.75 because it's not completely finished yet…or maybe it is. I haven't fully decided yet. It's basically just an introduction. Comments? How are you liking it? I think my writing has improved. =D**


	2. Tea House

_Chapter 1.5: Tea House_

"Not much to working it, is there?"

"Well, not if you work it like that, it isn't."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Children, move aside, I'm the one who will be using a wand here," Mr. Potter said with a hint of a smile on his face. Sirius and James moved aside to make room for him while eyeing each other, sizing up the opposition. Remus rolled his eyes as Peter grinned at the battle-like exchange.

"Look, she's waking up," Peter said suddenly. Ten eyes (which became twelve when Mrs. Potter walked in) trained on the girl's face. They suddenly opened wide, then shut after half a second, her body suddenly arching as if in pain. Not a sound left her mouth though, and all things happened too fast that nobody was sure what they had just witnessed.

"That was…" Peter trailed off.

"Was that a…convulsion of some sort?" James asked, the question directed to the air.

"We really should've taken her to the hospital," Remus said, settling back more comfortably into the pillow cocoon the Potters had placed him in. He hadn't realized he'd been holding a breath until he released it, afraid of the pain that would come with expanding and contracting his chest as he breathed.

"And how would we have explained that? 'Hi, we found this girl in a closed park in the middle of the night and we think that it has something to do with the fact that our friend is a werewolf'? Yeah, that would've gone swell," Sirius said a bit sharply. He was still a little grumpy about the previous night, not about any particular thing, but about the whole situation. It was unfair that Remus was a werewolf, a truth that had been hard for Sirius to accept. Remus didn't deserve such a thing, with his quiet demeanor and easy-going acceptance. Werewolves were vicious, angry, and unrelenting, a fate not compatible, not meant for Remus. It was also unfair that because of this curse, a girl was now in the living room of the Potter house, injured and semi-unconscious—and it was this part that nobody really dared to utter. It pained them all to realize that all the evidence pointed to one attacker, the culprit being Reginald (as the Marauders have dubbed the werewolf-Remus).

"That's enough, Sirius," Mrs. Potter said quietly but firmly. She moved closer to the girl's side, rearranging the blankets covering her.

"It's okay," Remus said, bowing his head slightly.

Sirius stood there for a second, looking at the ground, and the hard line of his mouth softened as he let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Remus," he said, running a hand through his knotted hair. He moved to sit by Remus' bandaged foot, placing a hand on it as he leaned back into the sofa. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Remus reassured him, a small smile on his face as he observed Sirius' fingers tapping the bandages, "I know you don't mean it."

"That's touching, Remus, but we've got larger issues than Sirius' lack of filtering," James said jokingly.

"Really? I think Sirius' lack of filter is a fairly big issue. That needs to be addressed soon, or else I don't know what kind of trouble he's going to get into," Mr. Potter chimed in with a grin. "Tea, anyone?" he said as Sirius gave a good-natured scowl.

"I could do with a cup," Peter said.

"Me too."

"And me."

"Love you, dear."

"Thanks for the offer."

"Five orders of tea it is." Mr. Potter swung into the kitchen, three teenagers in tow.

"It was lucky that Mr. Tover took over park duties," James said as his father grabbed the kettle.

"Otherwise we would probably be building an iron cage in the basement, right Dad?" Sirius said cheekily.

"This kid," Mr. Potter admonished, nudging Sirius in the back of the head. The boy only grinned.

"Let's get him a thank-you card," James continued.

"I don't think he needs one of those," Sirius said, his head resting on his hands.

"Fine, then what do you suggest?"

"How about you get him some dragon-scale gloves? I think he needs them for when he's taking care of the herbs in his greenhouse," Peter suggested. Suddenly there was a short-lived scream and then, whimpering, whispering.

"Guys?" Remus called, his voice tinged with a slight nervousness.

"What happened?" Mr. Potter asked in an urgent but calm voice, striding into the living room. The rest of the Marauders were close on his heels.

* * *

><p><em>So, I know it's not much, but...I'm working on it. There's just no inspiration and holy crap I didn't realize that I published the first chapter almost two years ago. My bad. =_


	3. Color Leach

_Chapter 2.35- Color Leach_

It was white. Everything was white. Or, at least she thought it was white. Perhaps it was what you saw when there were no colors to see, an indescribable color that could only be explained as the absence of color. She was blinded by its permeating brightness, but despite that, she felt that she could see everything.

"Who are you?"

The voice came from nowhere and everywhere, suddenly present, soft and demanding. She made to answer, but realized she didn't know how to.

"Won't you answer me?" it asked, honey seeping into its voice. Despite the white brightness, she felt cold, as though it were midnight during late autumn and she'd woken up outside. Cold, hard, frozen ground was still uncomfortable no matter how long you've been sleeping on it.

"You're wandering," the voice observed with a sweet-sounding patience, "But you really must tell me who you are."

This time she found she could respond, but as soon as a reply formed in her mouth, she realized she didn't know the answer. Who was she?

"What a pity," it said, sounding sincerely concerned, "It seems you can't remember. Such a shame. I was looking forward to some company, but if you can't even tell me who you are, what use are you to me?"

"Why do you have to know my name for me to be useful to you?" she asked, suddenly feeling an unusual sense of hurt. Why did she want to be useful to it, anyway? Perhaps there was something about the voice; it was compelling, mesmerizing in the way a person finds their lover.

There was a pause, then it laughed. "How amusing. You're thinking, wondering. Don't they teach you anything? A name holds a lot of power, don't you know? Shall I say a name and see how you react to it? I bet that I can control you with a single syllable." It was enjoying this.

Suddenly she felt heat at her fingertips, as if they were engulfed in flames. The burning was painful, prickling and smoldering. She yelped, tried to hold back a scream as the fiery feeling ascended the length of her arms.

"Punishment?" she asked the voice, holding back tears.

"Of what do you speak, dear?" it inquired pleasantly. The voice sounded cool and soothing in comparison to the fire consuming her bit by bit.

"Why am I being burned alive?" she asked quickly. If she opened her mouth for too long, she was sure she would scream.

"Oh, that feeling?" the voice asked rhetorically, "I'm not doing that." It was calm, but even through the haze of pain she could tell there was displeasure in its tone.

"Then what is it? What's happening?"

It scoffed. "You're more ignorant than I gave you credit for."

"Help," she whispered. The burning moved up to her neck, threatening her. "Please."

"Begging?" It almost sounded surprised- or perhaps its incredulity was feigned. She couldn't tell anymore. She couldn't comprehend anything, really. The pain was overwhelming her senses. "I would help you if I could," it continued lightly, "But I can't. And one piece of advice-" her head was bursting- "Clemency doesn't come from everyone, and truth doesn't always set you free. It's best if you learn not to talk to strangers, the way you talked to me. It's not a very safe practice, telling someone all your secrets."

"But I didn't tell you anything," she managed to get out. The blankness blinded her, glowing and shattering only to reveal an even brighter light beneath.

"On the contrary," it said, "You've told me all I need to know."

Finally, she screamed.


	4. Aware Arrival

_Chapter 3- Aware Arrivals_

"Hold her down!"

"Gently, gently, now," came the steady voice of Mrs. Potter. The girl's tightly wound body suddenly became limp.

"Well, that wasn't normal."

"Thank you, Sirius. We needed that."

"What's wrong with her, mum?"

Mrs. Potter pursed her lips and, as she rearranged the girl, took care not to look at Remus.

"Mum?"

Mr. Potter gave a sidelong glance to his wife as she busied herself with the girl's bandages.

"She should come around soon," she said in the firm yet comforting voice of a Healer.

"That's great, but what just happ-"

"It's because of me, isn't it?" Remus blurted. Mrs. Potter paused and sighed, turning her head to look at him. The boy's face was paler now, already light from having lost so much blood, and now even more drained from his most recent realization.

"What?" James said, lost, "We already talked about this, Remus. It's not your fault, it's Reginald's-"

"She was reacting to Reginald, then" Remus said, sitting up, his voice rising, "Wasn't she? All those scratches and wounds- at least one of them is bound to be a bite mark."

"Remus," Mr. Potter said calmly. He knelt down in front of the boy who had flames and fear in his eyes. "She'll be fine. No matter what happens, we'll take care of her. Don't start berating yourself over this, Remus, there's no way that you could have stopped it."

The two stared at each other for a good few minutes, the father instilling comfort and assurance until the boy believed his eyes. As Remus' edginess fell away, he sank back into the pillows and gave a slight frown, cautiously looking at the girl's limp body.

"Hey, hey, don't start that now," Sirius said, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning on, "I know what that look means, Remus. That guilt is started to eat away inside of you, isn't it? Stop it."

"But-"

"Stop it, right in its tracks, Remus," Peter piped up, "You need to stop feeling guilty about things you have no control over."

Rather than argue, Remus heaved a sigh, and blew his bangs away from his face. "Okay."

Suddenly, Peter sounded very urgent. "Guys?"

"What's wrong, Peter?"

"Uh...her eyes are opening."

"For real?"

"Can you hear me, dear?" Mrs. Potter gently sat herself beside the girl as her husband went to retrieve healing potions for their patient to ingest. "Can you see me?"

The girl drew in a hard, shuddering breath that made her back nearly lift off the sofa and Mrs. Potter immediately took her by the shoulders, holding her down.

"Don't worry, you're fine, you're fine," she assured her as she watched the girl's darting eye movements. "I'm Mrs. Potter. You must be in a fine bout of pain, but my husband here will give you something to ease it. Come on, open up," she encouraged the child, "It's just a little bit of pain reliever, nothing strong and nothing dangerous. I promise, you're safe, now." But the girl's mouth remained shut fast and tight, her eyes roaming the room suspiciously. Her eyes paused on something at the kitchen table and then it was only after she sniffed at the liquid Mrs. Potter was holding that she finally took a sip of it. She stared steadily at Mrs. Potter, then Mr. Potter in turn.

"Lay back down. There. Now, can we have a name, dear?"

The girl only stared. Her eyes wandered to the boys around the room who had kept silent, finally resting on the sandy-haired one that wouldn't look at her. She could feel the atmosphere become uncomfortable as she continued to watch the boy on the sofa who seemed to be as swaddled as she was. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

_So, it was him._


	5. Name Game

_*Chapters will start to become more substantial after this one._

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 4- Name Game<em>

"It's quite all right if you don't feel like talking right now," Mr. Potter said, breaking the silence, "You can rest up and we'll see how you're doing tomorrow. It's really very late; everyone should be in bed by now." This was Mr. Potter's gentle attempt at shoo-ing the teenagers away, but he had a feeling it wouldn't work.

"I'll stay out here with Remus like last night," James said.

"I've got the blankets," Peter's muffled voice said from behind a stack of bedding.

"Wow, Peter, when did you grab those?" Sirius asked, a combination of impressed and surprised.

Mr. Potter gave them a warning look. "You boys should really go inside. The girl needs to rest."

"We won't bother her, Mr. Potter, we swear. We'll go straight to sleep."

"Just let them be, dear," Mrs. Potter said, standing up, "You know how they get."

Her husband acquiesced easily, never really expecting any other alternative. "Alright," he said, "But really, _straight_ to sleep. Remus needs to get more rest as well; yesterday wasn't nearly enough." _Especially not for all the damage they each sustained,_ Mr. Potter thought to himself.

So, as Mr. and Mrs. Potter left the room, James and Peter spread out the blankets on the floor and Sirius plopped himself down next to Remus' feet (again), letting the laborers do their work. He started playing with the loose ends of his friend's bandages and tried to strike up conversation, but he had no idea what to say. Sirius was having the hardest time trying to distract himself from staring at the girl they had saved. He had always been nosy, and this was a mystery beyond his imagination. What was her name? Why had she been in the park? Was she in much pain? Did she remember what happened? Sirius looked at Remus, whose face looked even whiter in the light of the waning moon. _Was she really attacked by him?_

"What are you thinking about?" Remus asked. Sirius could hear the raspy tiredness that had crept its way into his friend's voice.

"Nothing much," he said nonchalantly, not wanting to worry Remus further.

"Liar."

"Oh hush," he replied flopping onto the now baby-safe floor, "Ah. Good job, Peter, James."

"Do you have a name?" James asked suddenly, "Oh, well, that was a stupid question, wasn't it? I mean, what is your name?"

The four boys looked at the girl, but her eyes were still locked on Remus' figure.

"Your name," Sirius said more firmly, giving her a slightly hardened stare. Her eyes flickered to him. "What is it?"

She opened her mouth slightly, but no sound came out. There was a battle going on inside of her, and when she tried to answer him, she felt a wave of fear crash onto her. _Not my name_, she thought almost frantically, _What will you do when you know my name?_

Her panic must have shown on her face, because one boy suddenly got up and moved to sit next to her. He took her hand in his and patted it, saying in a very calm manner, "My name is Sirius. That thing sprawled out on the purple pillow is James. You're at his house right now; those two people from earlier are his parents. This is Peter, bug-catcher and blanket-gatherer extraordinaire. The bummy-looking one over there is Remus." It seemed he was trying to comfort her. "It's your turn to share." He turned a steady gaze on her, his best attempt at being encouraging and, against her better judgement, she spoke.

"Raleigh."

"Raleigh?" Sirius repeated.

She looked surprised at herself, then clamped her mouth shut and turned her back to them, pretending to sleep.

"Nice to meet you, Raleigh," he said quietly, then moved away.

She shut her eyes and tried to keep her breathing under control. Fear was gnawing at her insides. What had gotten into her?


End file.
